Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automotive vehicle side door locking device, having a system for operating an external opening lever and an internal opening lever via cables, the cables being connected to the respective external opening handle and internal opening handle of the vehicle.
The present invention relates to an automotive vehicle side door locking device, having a system for operating an external opening lever and an internal opening lever via cables, the cables being connected to the respective external opening handle and internal opening handle of the vehicle.
Complementing this device, the invention also relates to a method for regulating the length of the cables operating the internal opening lever and the external opening lever.
This method of operating the opening of the lock via cables offers a twin-pronged advantage: on the one hand it provides better security against theft, because the cables, being sheathed, are practically burglarproof; on the other hand, in the event of an accident involving a side impact, a relative movement of the lock in relation to its operation will not cause the door to open at an inopportune moment during the impact, or make it difficult to open the door following the impact, contrary to what happens when rigid operating rods are employed.
In these devices the lock and its cable-operated system form a completely sealed unit, making it difficult for the fitter to install the cable system without having sight of it.
In accordance with the invention, the device comprises means for guiding one end of an operating cable as far as the external opening lever, making it possible to quite safely fit the cable xe2x80x9cblindxe2x80x9d onto the lock.
Since there is a ferrule attached to the end of the cable, these guiding means enable the operator to introduce the ferrule close to the end of the external opening lever until it reaches a position in which it is now possible for the cable to automatically introduce itself into a terminally configured slot in the external opening lever, the cable being retained in a suitable position to enable the cable and the ferrule to be hooked up.
According to one form of embodiment, the device is characterised in that said means comprise a ferrule guiding spout, formed on the side of a housing for the lock and extended outwards by a sheath abutment; the spout is disposed opposite a free end of the external opening lever so as to delimit with said free end a passage for introducing the ferrule until it reaches a position in which it can automatically hook itself to said free end of the lever.
According to another feature of the invention, the device comprises a cable-operated system for controlling the internal opening lever, means for guiding one end of the cable as far as the internal opening lever positioned in the lock opening setting when the lock is fitted, and means for retaining said lever in the opening position while the end of the cable is being introduced as far as the lever.
The invention likewise relates to a method for regulating the length of the cables operating the external and internal opening levers, more particularly the cable length delimited between a manual operating handle and a coupled sheath abutment.
This method involves:
a) locking the external opening lever in the rest position (closure position) or leaving the internal opening lever in the closure position;
b) introducing a shim of known length between the sheath limit stop located on the operating handle side, and said handle;
c) pushing the sheath limit stop onto the regulating shim, thereby putting the cable under tension;
d) attaching a second sheath limit stop, situated on the lock side, onto the associated sheath abutment, for example by ultrasonic sealing.
Once this series of steps has been carried out, the size of the stump of cable projecting from the sheath abutment on the operating side is regulated, and the cable is put under tension, all the device""s tolerances having been absorbed.
Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, referring also to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of embodiment thereof by way of non-restrictive example.